Jayber Crow by Wendell Berry

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A deeply introspective story about a man who follows through with a pastoral covenant to become interwoven into the fabric of a single community for a lifetime. Jayber Crow is an intimate autobiographical reflection on doubt, jealousy, and a skepticism of societal progress. Yet, the source of these themes stem from a tremendous amount of love for people and the environment in which they live. Crow’s posture is a prophetic voice in the wilderness challenging the ideas of what human flourishing really looks like.

The narrative drags though, as Jayber Crow time and time again chooses not to assert his carefully constructed desires and beliefs into a community which could have used his proverbial wisdom. At the end of the book, I was left knowing that much had happened but feeling like nothing had taken place at all. This book is less of a story and more of a portrait.

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